This award has to go to Erick at Red State for this tidbit :

In South Carolina tonight, Democratic voters would rather vote for the rich, Southern, white man than either the black man or the female yankee.

Excuse me? Obama won 55% of the vote. It sounds to me like Erick is trying to say that African American’s can’t be part of the Democratic Party, but that’s not as disturbing as the logic he is using:

In fact, exit polling by and large shows that John Edwards, by staying in the race, is taking votes that would otherwise typically go to Barack Obama. Is this a racist ploy? Is John Edwards in league with the Clintons to make sure white voters, who don’t want to vote for Clinton, have a white alternative to go to, lest Barack Obama get more traction?

Did we forget Iowa, a state that is predominately white and voted for Obama? Actually Erick’s argument here has strong hints of racism. Perhaps he is saying that the “white folk” should drop out because of the black man in the race.

Actually there seems to be a much simpler logic here, which shows the way Republicans stereotype the southern states. If your white and live in a southern state you would in no way ever support a black for President. Is Erick upset that the south is leaving their days of lynching and Klan rallies in the past? It sure sounds like it.

There’s another reason why Erick is upset, a reason he is unable to admit. Voter turnout in the Democratic primary was 20% higher than that in the Republican primary. That’s an amazing statistic for a predominately Republican state, and a fact of this election Republicans are starting to tackle. Obama is energizing the African American vote. That’s a large block of voters who usually don’t go to the polls. With this powerhouse behind Obama he becomes the most viable candidate against the “rich old white man Party”, and that is something that even the neo-conservative National Review is starting to recognize the GOP’s troubled future:

Barack Obama’s speech tonight was simply exceptional — and a reminder of why he is one of the most remarkable political talents in our lifetime. He was able to speak in ways that seem to rise above conventional politics, even as he was able to masterfully push back against the Clinton attacks of the last several weeks. His capacity to touch and stir authentic emotions is remarkable. And unlike Clinton and especially Edwards, the Obama message is about unity, not divisions; and hopes rather than grievances. If Obama wins the Democratic nomination, Republicans have a great deal to fear. He has tremendous break-out potential.

So instead of facing reality, Erick decided to create a straw man by accusing the Democratic voters in the south of being a bunch of racists, and in doing so has proved that many on the right are still afraid to face the realities that are facing them. That will certainly cost them this year.